The End of March

A rather brisk morning for the last day of March!! An early morning hot cup of tea and Dora seeking out a sunny lap.....

....not much room for stitching there but a little reading was being done..... 

Unfortunately not a lot to report on for my Stitch Therapy 365 .... since I joined I should be up to day 56 (!) and have only completed 4.... but did find another sunny spot later in the morning and managed to get a bit further (the gap in the middle is an applique which is nearly ready to be added) 

Knitting though does seem to be moving along with one sleeve finished and the second nearly half way!.... 

The show I'm stage managing is now under way.... we had 4 shows this weekend and next weekend another 4.... then after a couple of months of rehearsals and the actual show finished I will have my weekends back and perhaps I'll whizz through my Stitch Therapy 365 (should be calling it "Slow Stitching"!)..... get my garden into order, etc, etc....maybe even look through my many "to do" projects and start something else? 

I'll finish off with a photo taken this morning...... bulbs which usually appear in Spring! Even the plants seem to be a bit confused with the weather!

Happy Stitching

Asta

A Bit of This and That

Time for an update......not that there has been a lot happening!......Megan received her knitted scarf and told me it will definitely get worn as their Winter days are still quite cool ..... and her, and her partner, are shortly off to Scotland for a couple of weeks where it is even colder!! 

Meanwhile..... I am stage managing another show for the theatre which has a wonderful cast of only 10 aged from 14 to around 30 something.....we are still in rehearsal mode but does involve "homework" as I work out how back stage will run  smoothly.....

Spare moments have been found to finish reading another book........was OK but had quite   a few characters with similar names and jumped back and forth from 1911 to 2010 and must say I did at times get confused with who was who!

There have been some cooler nights so last year's knitting project re-surfaced and the sleeves for the jumper (for myself) were started - back and front having being finished last year.... a finish for this Winter?... Perhaps! (Not quite as blue as this photo shows it to be!)

And..... over a month ago I joined up with "Hugs & Kisses" project "Stitch Therapy 365" - doing one embroidery a day on a pre-printed panel. Well.....first I procrastinated on whether to use the stabiliser I had purchased, sought advice, decided to use another one, then lost my enthusiasm (mojo?) to start....So... theoretically I should be on Day 39 (from when I joined) but realistically I'm just starting on Day 1!! 

So..... time to have a cup of tea and find a new book to read? ... Perhaps a few rows of knitting?  Or catch up with some stitching?..... Decisions, decisions!!

Happy Stitching!

Asta

Sydney Weekend

An update from last weekend when there was another trip to Sydney ......to catch up again with mum and dad and take part in a great one day workshop with my sister, Linda, called "Slow Stitching" with Lisa Mattock.....she had all her wonderful samples to show us.... a smorgasbord of inspiration.....

A week later and mine is not much further advanced than when we finished off at the end of the day!....while I came back to work Linda stayed on in Sydney for a few days and every spare minute was spent stitching! No photo but I'm sure hers is finished by now!

Photos of finished "creations" will appear - hopefully sooner rather than later! 

In all the years I've lived on the far South Coast (30yrs!) my one "must" stop when travelling to and from Sydney has been Sew & Tell in Berry.... whether just to browse or to make the occasional purchase.....well, what am I to do now! It is closing....!! 

With 50% off everything I added to my stash of Tilda fabrics.......

....one day I will make something from one of these lovely books which have been in my bookcase for.....some time! I think I just need to cut into my stash and start!! 

Although our weather has been rather warm for knitting.... I did finish a scarf  for Megan.... England is still experiencing cold weather so this is in the mail as we speak! 

Another recent "finish" has been this wonderful book...... fell in love with the characters and loved the storyline!....Will be reading more of Liz Byrski's books.....

 And.... to finish off .....back to this weekend and a relaxing day at our local Botanical Gardens enjoying an afternoon tea shared by a "local"! 

Till next time

Happy Stitching

Asta

 

Christmas & January....

Well here we are at the end of January already! Where has the month gone? 
We close at work for 3 weeks over the Christmas / New Year holidays so a small holiday was on the agenda as I headed off to Sydney to spend Christmas with the family....mum, dad, 2 sisters and 1 brother-in-law.....(Megan & partner in England and Hayley & partner in Queensland were missed!) 

Christmas lunch preparations under way and I made a trifle large enough to feed an army! 

Over the following few days...... we spent a whole afternoon at Ikea..... tried taking a selfie.....I don't think my arms are long enough!!

Sister Vivien and brother-in-law found a great place for breakfast one morning......a waterfront cafe at Neutral Bay (in Sydney) called Thelma & Louise....

 It was a fairly hot day so a cooler spot was found inside as we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast and the view.....

It was time for retail therapy a few days later so, with both sisters in tow, we spent a day at Myers and finished off with a well deserved ice-cream on the way home......only a "selfie" of ice-creams this time!

During the week in Sydney the Estonian Arts Festival took place with various events spread over a few days  (art show, theatre performances, etc)...we opted to watch the folk dancing and choir performances as my sisters and I, when we were younger and all lived in Sydney and being of Estonian heritage, had taken part in folk dancing events.....

"Happy New Year"! 

New year's day had arrived and my sister, Linda, and I departed Sydney - I was now spending a week at her place on the mid-north coast.... weather even hotter than Sydney!! We filled in the week with some (very) early morning walks near her home.....

 .....catching up with "old" friends over lunch in Gladstone (near Kempsey)....

 .....enjoying lunch at a Miss Nellies Cafe in Kendall .......

.....another lunch out at an "old-world" cafe in Wauchope......

....and a good "old fashioned" hamburger down by the river!

When indoors (away from the heat!) books were read, board games came out and I learnt to make paper flowers! 

So another relaxing week came to an end and just past midnight (!!) I boarded the train to Sydney (where my car was still at mum & dad's place)......

Another few days in Sydney and a day out with mum & dad for lunch.....

Before I knew it 3 weeks had passed and it was time to come home and back to work! 

Mid-January our Botanical Gardens hosted "Shakespeare in the Park" and together with a friend we thoroughly enjoyed a performance of Midsummer Nights Dream performed by a Victorian Theatre company...

This time there is no creativity to show...... a bit of knitting when the evenings are cooler - which has been on the very rare occasion...am knitting a scarf for Megan in England where they have recently had a light dusting of snow.....

And that, my readers, once more brings me up to date...... I leave you with a photo of a small jug bought from a second-hand shop in England way back in September when I visited Megan...now a vase to hold flowers from the garden....

Happy Stitching 

Asta

The Last Couple of Months

Now an update - filling in the last couple of months since returning from my English holiday in September....
In October the family gathered together in Sydney to celebrate Dad's 96th birthday..... 

An annual visit to the Gerringong Quilt Exhibition in November....there were some lovely inspirational quilts on display.....pictures of just a few....

Early December & my sisters & I combined our "creations" and had a stall at.....

I spent a couple of very busy months after my holiday"creating".......X-stitch hand towels, patchwork block mug mats, glasses cases & chickens!!

.....setting up in the hall.....and our colourful stall.....

A few books have been read - between travelling & creating! And.... a few more have been added to my reading  list!!

Before the sewing machine was packed away (for a while) I finally made 2 Christmas pillows from 2 fabric panels bought in Chamonix, France 2 years ago!! Very appropriately, the pillows are backed in French General fabric....it was then time to set up the Christmas tree, decorate the house and display my Santas - now around 60 in number!

The embroidery group I belong to gathered at my place to finish off the year with  Christmas drinks & nibbles......

.....and, while I am now finally up to date with my blog, another festive season approaches - time to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy, Healthy & Creative 2019!

Asta